Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $38.00 to $52.00. With a rating of Buy on the stock, the company has a 52-week high of $40.98. The one-year price target of $44.88 is above the opening price of $39.87, that has caused a fair amount of other analysts to report on the stock in recent days.

The Fed stood pat on interest rates on Wednesday, helping stocks to mostly higher levels but Chairwoman Janet Yellen indicated an interest rate hike is likely by year’s end

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 SPX, +1.09% ended 1.1% higher, while the Dow DJIA, +0.90% jumped by 0.9%, or 164 points, as each exchange finished in positive territory for a second consecutive day.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite COMP, +1.03% tacked on 1% and scored a record closing high.

Yesterday Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) shares last traded at $39.33, which represents a spike of $0.36 over the previous closing price. Opening at $39.87, they fluctuated from $38.86 and $40.20 throughout the day.

Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) now has a market cap of 1.56B.

948,159 shares crossed the trading desk yesterday, higher than normal, out of a total float 39,087,000. Excessive volume accumulation by institutional investors may be in the near future as the combination of substantial gains in trading volume and price inflation can be indicative factors.

While an increase in trading for short periods will not mean much, however, a trend of heavy trading volume on the buy side over a series of days or weeks sends a positive cue to market traders that institutions may be moving in, so institutional sponsorship is critical.

Institutional sponsorship is defined by ownership of a stock by mutual funds, banks, pension funds and other large institutions.

Professional investors such as these retain substantial teams of analysts researching thousands of stocks. So watching their interests is a good way to make sure you are buying the right stocks.

By spotting trends, moving averages allow investors to make those trends work in their favor and increase the number of successful trades.

With that in mind, Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) now has a 50-day MA of $37.67 and 200-day MA of $30.58. It has traded in a 52-week range between $18.41 – 40.98 and today’s last price is 0.04% lower than the 52 week high of $40.98.

Earnings growth is a critical factor to consider when investing in stocks and investors seek companies that have increased their earnings at least 25% or more for 3 consecutive years.

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